Lady&#39;s shoe with quick heel replacement provisions

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides the illustrative embodiments of coupling and decoupling mechanism directed to a lady&#39;s shoe with quick heel replacement of various heights so that the same shoe is useable for various needs and occasions. The various heel heights coupling and decoupling mechanical mechanisms include a drop arm and latch, a latch spring, and a push button mechanism. The construction material of the heel replacement fixture includes stainless steel, tempered aluminum alloy, or a durable polymer or a light weight composite material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

A Substitution Application for the previously Filed application Ser. No. 12/636,220.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the field of footwear. Still more particularly, the illustrative embodiments are directed to a lady's shoe with quick replacement of heels of various heights so that the same shoe is used for various needs and occasions.

2. Background

Efforts have been made to provide a replaceable worn out heel for ladies' or men's shoes with some fastening means. However, the prior efforts have not been able to meet the challenges to provide the security and stability and quick replacements of heels of various heights. Women normally commute to work with low heel shoes and sometimes wear medium heel shoes during work, and they may wear a high heel shoe for an evening or a formal occasion. The present invention provides a lady's shoe (a boot or other footwear) with a plurality of mechanical coupling mechanisms for coupling heels of various heights to the sole of the same shoe. For example: a low height heel, a medium height heel, or a high height heel with a quick heel replacement suitable for regular walks or formal occasions. The reference to a lady's shoe in this invention is applicable to various types of boots or other footwear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure provides a lady's shoe (a boot or other footwear) with a plurality of mechanical coupling mechanisms for coupling heels of various heights to same the shoe. This will provide for convenience and better efficiency for a busy working woman. For example, a low height heel, a medium height heel, or a high height heel with quick heel replacement suitable for regular walks or formal occasions. Also it is more economical solution to have one pair of shoes for all occasions. This solution can apply to new production or retrofit existing shoes. In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lady's shoe with a plurality of coupling mechanisms for coupling heels of various heights to a lady's shoe so that the same shoe is used for various purposes.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a lady's shoe equipped with a heel replacement fixture for replacing heels of various heights.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a lady's shoe equipped with a fixture for replacing heels of various heights. The mechanism to couple or decouple a top part of the heel fixture to a bottom part of the heel replacement fixture is a mechanical coupling mechanism. The mechanical coupling mechanism comprises of grooved sliding surfaces, locking arms and drop pins attached to the top part of the heel replacement fixture into a pin receiving anchors or latches which are attached to the bottom part of the fixture to secure and lock the two parts of the heel replacement fixture.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for a lady's shoe to couple the top part of the heel replacement fixture to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture with a latch spring mechanism. The latch spring mechanism comprises a plurality of spring attached to the latch, and the latch spring mechanism is further attached to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture which in turn is attached to the replaceable heel of the lady's shoe.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for a lady's shoe to couple the top part of the heel fixture to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture is a push button mechanism. The push button mechanism is attached to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture which in turn is attached to the replaceable heel of the lady's shoe. The push button mechanism comprises a rod with a spring attached to a lever rod which will act as a tongue latch in a slot in the top part of the heel replacement fixture to secure the coupling of the two heel replacement fixture parts.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for a lady's shoe to couple the top part of the heel replacement fixture to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture, where the heel replacement fixture fabrication material includes stainless steel, tempered aluminum alloy, a durable polymer, or a light weight composite material.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for a lady's shoe the heels of various heights. The heel of various heights include a low height heel ranges between 0.25 to 1.00 inch in height, the medium height heel ranges between 1.00 to 3.0 inches in height, and the high heel ranges between 3.00 to 5.00 inches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a view of a typical lady's shoe.

FIG. 2 a-c show heels of various heights for a lady's shoe and their corresponding heel attachment.

FIG. 3 a-b shows a mechanical coupling mechanism of a heel to a lady's shoe.

FIG. 4 a-c show a locking arm mechanical coupling mechanism of a heel to a lady's shoe.

FIG. 5 a-c show a spring latching mechanical coupling mechanism of a heel to a lady's shoe.

FIG. 6 a-d shows a push button mechanical coupling mechanism of a heel to a lady's shoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with particular reference to presently preferred embodiments.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 1 shows a view of a typical lady's shoe 100. A heel 102, a sole 104, a front portion 106 to support and protect front of the foot, and a back portion 108 to support and accommodate the heel of the foot are shown as the integral parts of the shoe 100.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 2 a shows a low height heel 202 attached to the back part 208 of the shoe 200, and to the sole 204 of the shoe 200. The low height heel 202 is attached to the shoe 200 by a two part attachment fixture 212 and 214 (shown as one coupled part in the FIGS. 2 a-c). The upper part of the heel 212 is attached to the sole 204. The upper part of the heel 212 is attached to the sole 204 either by mechanical means, or by an adhesive bonding, or a combination of both. The top part of the replaceable heel 214 is attached to a replaceable heel 202 either by mechanical means, or by an adhesive bonding, or a combination of the both. The fixture 212 and 214 are fabricated including the materials stainless steel, a hardened aluminum alloy, or a hard and durable polymer, or a light weight composite material. The weight of the attachment fixtures 212 and 214 is controlled to maintain a good balance of the shoe 200. A low height heel 202 may range from 0.25 inch to about 1.00 inch in height. The low height heel 202 may be used for relatively long walks or other activities to make the walks and activities comfortable and to avoid any excessive strain and fatigue to the feet, legs or knees of a user. The purpose of the low height heel 202 is to provide comfort to a user during the walks, long standing periods or other activities. Note: The coupling and locking mechanisms of the shoe and the heel are described in other enclosed figures' descriptions.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 2 b shows a medium height heel 202 attached to the back part 208, and to the sole 204 of the shoe 200. The heel 202 is attached to the shoe 200 b by a two part attachment fixtures 212 and 214. The part one 212, and part two 214 fixtures are attached to the sole 204, and to the upper part of the medium height heel 202 respectively. The part one fixture 212 is attached to the sole 204 either by mechanical means, or by adhesive bonding, or stitching, or a combination of the all thereof. The top part of the replaceable heel 214 is attached to the replaceable heel 202 either by mechanical means, or by an adhesive bonding or a combination of the both. The attachment fixtures 212 and 214 are fabricated including the materials stainless steel, a hardened aluminum alloy, or a hard and durable polymer, or a light weight composite material. The weight of the attachment fixtures 212 and 214 is controlled to maintain a good balance of the shoe 200. The medium height heel 202 may range from about 1.00 inch to about 3.00 inch in height. The medium height heel 202 may be used for formal occasions, non formal occasions, light walk, light activities or the office use. Note: The coupling and locking mechanisms of the shoe and the heel are described in other enclosed figures' descriptions.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 2 c shows a high heel 202 attached to the back part 208 and to the sole 204 of the shoe 200. The high heel 202 is attached to the shoe 200 by a two part attachment fixture 212 and 214. The part one 212, and part two 214 fixtures are attached to the sole 204, and to the upper part of the high heel 202 respectively. The part one fixture 212 is attached to the sole 204 either by mechanical means, or by adhesive bonding, or stitching, or a combination of the all thereof. The top part of the replaceable fixture 214 is attached to the replaceable heel 202 either by mechanical means, or by an adhesive bonding or a combination of the both. The attachment fixtures 212 and 214 are fabricated including the materials stainless steel, a hardened aluminum alloy, or a hard and durable polymer, or a light weight composite material. The weight of the attachment fixtures 212 and 214 is controlled to maintain a good balance of the shoe 200. A high height heel 202 may range from about 3.00 inches to about 5.00 inch in height. The shoe 200 with a high heel 200 may be used for formal occasions, parties and other activities.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 3 a shows a cross-sectional view with a replaceable heel 302 attached to the shoe 300 by coupling the two fixtures 312 and 314. The part of the replacement fixture 314 (not shown in FIG. 3 a) is inside the fixture 312, and the locking latch mechanism 310 secures the heel 302 to the shoe 300. The fixture 312 is attached to the sole 304 and the back 308 of the shoe 300. The other fixture 314 is attached to the replaceable heel 302. It is pointed out that fixture 312 is permanently attached or coupled to the sole 304, and the fixture 314 remains permanently attached or coupled to the heel 302 of the shoe 300. The attachment or coupling of the fixture 312, and fixture 314 is achieved by sliding the mating surfaces of the fixture 312, and fixture 314 into one another. The locking latching mechanism 310 secures the heel 302 to the shoe 300.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 3 b shows a cross-sectional view of the heel 302 attached to the fixture 314, and the fixture 312 is attached to the sole 304 on the back side 308 of the shoe 300 in the coupling or decoupling direction 316.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 4 a shows a partial and cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. The FIG. 4 a shows a heel 402, the sole 404, and the back side 408 of the shoe 400. The attachment or coupling of the fixture 412 and the fixture 414 is achieved by engaging and pushing the mating grooved surfaces of the fixture 412, and the fixture 414 into one another in the direction 416. The fixture 414 is permanently attached to the heel 402 and is considered as a part of the heel 402. The locking drop arms or levers 410 a and 410 b are shown as the integral components of the part 412. The latching hooks 418 a and 418 b are shown as the integral components of part 414. To attach and secure the heel to the shoe, the drop arms 410 a and 410 b will be dropped and locked inside the latch hooks 418 a and 418 b.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 4 b shows the drop arms 410 a and 410 b and the part 414 as part of the heel 402. FIG. 4 b shows sliding part 414 into part 412 in the process to couple heel 402 to the shoe 400. The fixture 414 is permanently attached to the heel 402, and fixture 412 is permanently attached to the sole 404 of the shoe 400.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 4 c depicts a completed fixtures assembly of the shoe 400. FIG. 4 c shows the locking push drop arms 410 a and 410 b positioned in receiving latch hooks 418 a and 418 b respectively. FIG. 4 c shows a completed heel 402 attachment and replacement process.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 5 a shows a partial view of another embodiment of the present invention depicting a heel 502 with the attached fixture 214 and the fixture 512, and the locking mechanism 520 of the shoe 500. The fixture 512 is permanently attached to the shoe 500. A locking mechanism 520 is attached to the fixture 514 to secure the locking of the fixture 514 inside the fixture 512 to attach the heel 502 to the shoe 500. The attachment or coupling of the fixture 512 and the fixture 514 is achieved by engaging and pushing the mating grooved surfaces of the fixture 512, and the fixture 514 into one another in the direction 516.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 5 b shows a composite view of the locking mechanism 520 described in FIG. 5 a. The locking mechanism 520 described in FIG. 5 a comprises a latch (tongue) 526 coupled to springs 522 a and 522 b all contained in a housing 524. The latch tongue 526, in conjunction with the springs 522 a and 522 b, acts as a lock and release mechanism for securing the heel 502 to the shoe 500. The latch tongue 526 includes a pull-down handle to release the heel from the shoe.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 5 c shows a composite view of the shoe 500 with the heel 502 in a locked-in position and secured by the locking latch mechanism 520. Note: the fixture 512 is attached permanently to back of the shoe 500, and the locking latch 520 is attached mechanically to the upper side of the heel 502.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 6 a shows the shoe 600 with a depicting another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 a shows the heel replacement fixtures 612 and 614 with a push button 628 locking mechanism. The attachment or coupling of the part 612, and part 614 is achieved by engaging and pushing the grooved mating surfaces of the fixture 612, and fixture 614 into one another in the direction 616. The mechanical locking in this FIG. 6 a is a push button 628 mechanism. The latch tongue 630 is automatically in up position at all times due to the spring 642. When the grooved mating surfaces of the fixtures 612 and 614 slide into each other, the latch tongue 630 is pushed down by the fixture 612. The latch tongue 632 pops up in the receiving slot 632, and locks the parts 612 and 614 completing the heel 602 attachment to the shoe 602. When the latch 630 is positioned inside the receptive slot 632 the heel 602 is secured and attached firmly to the shoe 600. The decoupling of the heel 602 is achieved by pushing the button 628, which in turn pushes down the latch 630, and pulling back the heel 602 in the direction 616.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 6 b shows the push button 628 locking mechanism, which is part of the heel replacement fixture 614. The button 628 is attached to the rod 636 which is imbedded in the tube guide 634 and continues through inside the spring 642. The latching tongue 630 acts as a lever with a fixed pivot 638. The joint 640 moves with the rod 636 when the push button 628 is pressed, which lowers the latch tongue 630 to release the replaceable heel 602. The latch tongue 630 is always in a vertical position due to the force exerted by the spring 642. The end surface 644 has a guide to allow for the rod 636 to move through when the push button 630 is pressed to release the coupled heel 602 from the shoe 600.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 6 c depicts the push button 628 locking mechanism, which is part of the replacement heel fixture 614. The latching tongue 630 is shown in a vertical position. The attachment or coupling of the fixtures 612 and 614 is achieved by engaging and pushing the mating grooved surfaces of the fixtures 612 and 614 into one another in the direction 616. The surface of the fixture 612 pushes the latching tongue 630 down during the sliding process and is rested in the receiving slot and become vertical to lock and secure the coupling of the replacement heel 602 to the shoe 600.

Referring to drawings, FIG. 6 d shows partial cross-sectional view of the heel 602 as described in FIG. 6 a coupled and attached to the shoe 600 using the push button 628 mechanism. 

1. A lady's shoe equipped with a replacement fixture for replacing heels of various heights, comprising: a replaceable heel, a sole, a front and a back of the lady's shoe; a two part heel replacement fixture; a top part of the heel replacement fixture is permanently coupled to the sole; a bottom part of the heel replacement fixture is permanently coupled to the top of the replaceable heel; a mechanism to couple or decouple the top part of the heel replacement fixture to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture; and a locking latching mechanism to secure the replaceable heel to the lady's shoe
 2. The lady's shoe of claim 1, wherein construction material of the two part heel replacement fixture includes stainless steel, tempered aluminum ally, a durable polymer or a light weight composite material.
 3. The lady's shoe of claim 1, wherein the lady's shoe includes a boot, or another footwear.
 4. The lady's shoe of claim 1, wherein the heels of various heights include a low height heel, a medium height heel and a high heel.
 5. The lady's shoe of claim 4, wherein the low height heel range between 0.25 to 1.00 inch in height, the medium height heel ranges between 1.00 to 3.0 inches in height and the high heel ranges between 3.00 to 5.00 inches in height.
 6. The lady's shoe of claim 1, wherein the mechanism to couple or decouple the top part of the heel replacement fixture to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture is a mechanical coupling mechanism to couple the heel to the shoe, wherein the mechanical coupling mechanism is a locking arm or a lever attached to the top part of the heel replacement fixture, and wherein a receiving slot is attached to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture to receive the locking arm or the lever.
 7. The lady's shoe of claim 1, wherein the mechanism to couple the top part of the heel replacement fixture to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture is a latch spring mechanism, wherein the latch spring mechanism comprises a plurality of springs attached to the latch, and wherein the latch spring mechanism is attached to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture.
 8. The lady's shoe of claim 1, wherein the mechanism to couple or decouple the top part of the heel replacement fixture to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture is a push button mechanism, wherein the push button mechanism comprises a spring attached to the locking latch mechanism, and wherein the push button mechanism is attached to the bottom part of the heel replacement fixture of the lady's shoe. 